Many pets suffer from a variety of maladies, such as stiffness, muscle pain, arthritis, lumbago, rheumatism and neuralgia (among others). One way to treat a pet that has these types of maladies is to provide heat to the pet. Some known heat-treating methods include direct application of heat to the body using items such as a towel, jelly and/or paste.
One concern with such heat-treating methods relates to the ability to control the amount of heat that is applied to the pet, especially since pets are incapable of providing verbal feedback as to the amount of heat that they are receiving. A burn could result if too much heat is applied to a pet, and a pet may receive relatively ineffective therapy if too little heat is applied. Another concern with these types of heat-treating methods relates to their ability to apply heat for extended periods of time.
Pet owners commonly have their pets sleep in an environment where no heating facilities are available. As an example, pets often sleep in unheated garage spaces that are near their owner's home. A pet bed is typically used to keep pets warm as they sleep and/or to provide heat therapy to an ailing pet.
Some conventional pet beds include a thermoelectric device that generates heat within the pet bed. One of the drawbacks with such pet beds is that the thermoelectric devices require electricity to generate heat. Since electricity is not available in many locations, bulky, expensive and environmentally unfriendly batteries are often required to supply the necessary electricity.
Accordingly, there is a need for a pet bed that applies heat to a pet without using electricity. The pet bed should also be capable of maintaining a safe temperature for an extended period of time.